Czech RepublicObčanský zákoník, §§ 2939 to 2943, Liability for Damage Caused by a Product Defect (Directive 85/374/EEC)
Zákon č. 89/2012 Sb., občanský zákoník, §§ 2939-2943
In force since .
A product liability rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
As of .
What it requires
- The Civil Code applies to a defect of a movable thing placed on the market as a product, and its text does not say whether software supplied on its own is such a thing, so treat standalone software as an open question under Sec. 2939(1) read with Secs. 498(2) and 2389a(1).
- If you produce, extract, grow or otherwise obtain a product or a component, or put your name, trade mark or another mark on a product, you answer jointly and severally for damage a defect in it causes (Sec. 2939(1)).
- If you import a product to place it on the market in the course of your business, you answer jointly and severally with the producer (Sec. 2939(2)).
- If you supply a product and the producer cannot be determined, tell the injured person within one month of the claim who the producer is or who supplied the product to you, or you answer for the damage (Sec. 2940(1)).
- If you supply an imported product, tell the injured person within that period who the importer is, or you answer for the damage even though the producer is known (Sec. 2940(2)).
- Make the product as safe as can reasonably be expected in view of all circumstances, including how you place it on the market or offer it, the purpose it is meant to serve and the time you placed it on the market (Sec. 2941(1)).
- Be ready to prove a Sec. 2942 defense: that the injured person caused the damage, that you did not place the product on the market, that the defect did not exist when you placed it or arose later, that you did not make it for business purposes, that the defect results from compliance with binding legal provisions, or that the state of scientific and technical knowledge did not allow the defect to be discovered (Sec. 2942(1) and (2)).
- If you made only a component, be ready to prove that the defect was caused by the design of the product it was incorporated into or by that product's instructions (Sec. 2942(3)).
- Do not rely on a contract term or an advance waiver to exclude or limit liability for a product defect, because it is disregarded (Sec. 2942(4) and (5)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does a movable thing (movitá věc) in section 2939(1) of the Civil Code, a category that section 498(2) extends to things with an intangible substance, include software supplied on its own as a product?
What this law does
Section 2939(1) makes whoever produced, extracted, grew or otherwise obtained a product or its component liable for damage caused by a defect of a movable thing intended to be placed on the market as a product for sale, hire or other use. Section 2939(1) makes whoever marked the product or its part with its name, trade mark or in another way jointly and severally liable with that person.
Section 2939(2) makes whoever imported the product in order to place it on the market in the course of its business jointly and severally liable with those persons. Section 2939(3) compensates damage to a thing caused by a product defect only in the amount exceeding EUR 500 at the exchange rate of the Czech National Bank.
Section 2940(1) makes each supplier liable where the producer cannot be determined, unless the supplier tells the injured person within one month who the producer is or who supplied the product to it. Section 2940(2) makes each supplier of an imported product liable even where the producer is known, unless the supplier tells the injured person within that period who the importer is.
Section 2941(1) makes a product defective if it is not as safe as can reasonably be expected in view of all circumstances, in particular the way it is placed on the market or offered, its intended purpose and the time it was placed on the market. Section 2941(2) provides that a product is not defective only because a better product was placed on the market later.
Section 2942(1) releases the tortfeasor from the duty to compensate damage caused by a product defect only on proof that the injured person, or a person for whose act the injured person answers, caused the damage. Section 2942(2) point (a) also releases that person where it proves that it did not place the product on the market.
Section 2942(2) point (b) also releases that person where it can reasonably be assumed, in view of all circumstances, that the defect did not exist when the product was placed on the market or arose later. Section 2942(2) point (c) also releases that person where it did not make the product for sale or other use for business purposes and did not make or distribute it in the course of its business.
Section 2942(2) point (d) also releases that person where the defect results from compliance with legal provisions that bind the producer. Section 2942(2) point (e) also releases that person where the state of scientific and technical knowledge when it placed the product on the market did not make it possible to discover the defect.
Section 2942(3) releases the maker of a component where it proves that the defect was caused by the design of the product into which the component was incorporated or by the instructions for that product. Section 2942(4) disregards an advance waiver by the other party of the right to compensation, in whole or in part. Section 2942(5) disregards agreements contrary to paragraphs 1 to 4.
Section 2943 disapplies sections 2939 to 2942 where the defect damaged the defective product itself or damaged a thing intended and used mainly for business purposes. Section 620(2) makes the circumstances that start the limitation period for a claim for damage caused by a product defect include the injured person's knowledge of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer. Section 629(1) sets a limitation period of three years.
Section 637 time-bars a claim for damage caused by a product defect at the latest ten years after the producer placed the defective product on the market. Section 489 defines a thing in the legal sense as everything that is distinct from a person and serves human needs. Section 496(2) defines intangible things as rights whose nature permits it and other things without a material substance.
Section 498(2) treats all things other than immovables as movable, whether their substance is tangible or intangible. Section 2389a(1) describes digital content as a thing in digital form. The Civil Code entered into force on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app distributes a software product or ships a mobile app.